Hello All, I am sure that this discussion has been on this forum a million times...however, we have 11 straight run Buff Orpingtons and it sure would be nice to figure out exactly how many hens we will be ending up with and how many roosters that we will need to find homes for. I have looked and looked all over on the internet for "how-to's" on figuring out the sex of young chickens. Some say you can tell by the length of the wing feathers and tails. However I have read that it depends of whether or not the breeder is following the fast feathering hen/slow feathering rooster breeding program. I have read that you can tell by the development of the comb/wattle and it's color (red vs. pink) with roosters having the more developed combs/wattles and brighter red. I have read that those with really thick legs usually tend to be roosters. I have read that if you pick your chicken up and it dangles its legs that it's a rooster, if it pulls them up it's a hen. I have read if you hold them on their backs and they stick their legs in the air it's a rooster, legs folded down indicates a hen.
Is their a tried and true way to figure out the sex of a chicken before it either crows or lays an egg? And if not, at what approximate age do cockerels/roosters start to crow? I notice some of the chickens that have more developed combs/wattles running at each other with their feathers on their necks flared out and sort of dancing around and occasionally attacking with their feet. Are these roosters? It seems to be similar to cock fighting behavior. There seem to be a lot of bullies. I am assuming that it's the whole pecking order thing, but maybe it has to do with there being a lot of cockerels in the bunch? Thanks for your help!
